The Count of Monte-Cristo

Edmond defies orders to rescue a shipwrecked woman in the Mediterranean Sea. The rescued Angèle carries a Napoleon letter that Captain Danglars seizes, using it for his own schemes. Back in Marseille, Morrel condemns Danglars for failing to aid survivors and promotes Edmond to fill the vacancy he created.

Edmond returns home to share the news with his fiancée Mercédès Herrera and Fernand de Morcerf. He asks Fernand to stand as his best man for the wedding. On the wedding day, Edmond is arrested as a Bonapartist and is brought before Villefort for interrogation.

Villefort plots with Danglars and Fernand to keep Edmond imprisoned. Angèle demands Edmond's release and threatens to expose Villefort's affair with Danglars' wife. To silence her, Villefort enlists Danglars to eliminate Angèle.

Edmond is sent to the Château d'If where he meets Abbé Faria, who educates him in languages, science and culture over eight years. Faria reveals the location of a vast treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. Edmond clings to hope as the plan to escape forms.

Faria is fatally injured in a tunnel collapse. Edmond carries Faria's body to his cell, hides in a burial sack, and is tossed into the sea to escape. He surfaces free and begins the long journey back to the mainland, where he discovers his father is dead and Mercédès has married Fernand.

Edmond travels to Monte Cristo and uncovers the hidden treasure, using it to reinvent himself as the Count of Monte Cristo. He returns to the world with wealth, education, and a ruthless motive: revenge. He steps into his new identity ready to strike.

The Count locates Angèle, who is dying and reveals Villefort's crimes, including his attempt to bury his illegitimate son André alive. Edmond takes André under his wing, renaming him Prince Andrea Cavalcanti, and uses him to infiltrate society. He also introduces Haydée and uses Andrea to win over Eugénie, Danglars's daughter.

The Count launches his financial revenge: rumors of Danglars's fleet vanish and his stocks crash. Danglars borrows money to recover his losses, pledging assets as collateral, while Monte Cristo quietly controls the leverage behind the scenes. This scheme devastates Danglars and advances Edmond's long game.

At a trial where Danglars sues the newspaper, André reveals himself as Villefort's illegitimate son, exposing Villefort's past crimes. Villefort is humiliated as the courtroom erupts in scandal. André then assassinates his father, but is killed while fleeing.

Haydée, devastated by André's death, turns against the Count and demands the truth about Albert's father's betrayal be revealed. Edmond presses for the truth, testing loyalties within his circle as he maneuvers Albert into his plans. The truth unsettles the delicate balance of power around the Count.

Albert challenges the Count to a duel, hoping to settle old scores. Mercédès pleads for Albert's life, and Edmond chooses mercy, ending the confrontation without bloodshed. The moment signals a shift toward restraint in his otherwise ruthless pursuit of revenge.

Mercédès leaves Fernand after the unraveling of Edmond's plan. Fernand confronts Edmond in a final duel, but Edmond defeats him and refuses to kill him, leaving Fernand to live with disgrace and losses. The vendetta formalizes its moral ambiguity as mercy supersedes vengeance.

Edmond abandons his estate to travel the world, seeking new horizons. In a final letter to Mercédès, he writes: ‘All human wisdom is contained in these two words: Wait and Hope.’ The Count closes one chapter and begins another, carrying the weight of his choices.